Vintage News

7/6/2009 - Keep On Truckin'

Stuttgart - The classic "Silver Arrows" by Mercedes-Benz are icons of the 1930s. Racing cars such as the W 25, the W 125, the W 154 and the W 165, but also drivers like Manfred von Brauchitsch, Rudolf Caracciola and Hermann Lang, were right in the forefront of the motor racing world in those days. Other vehicles were rather less prominent, but also had a strong effect on the public image the racing transporters.

Wherever these blue trucks with their "Mercedes-Benz Racing Department" appeared, they emphatically underlined the brands will to win. Under the supervision of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center such a racing transporter from the 1930s has now been built true to its original design.

During the 1930s, the Mercedes-Benz racing transporters certainly did their bit towards the successes of the Silver Arrows by bringing the cars to the Grand Prix racetracks on time, ensuring a reliable supply chain from the plant and acting as mobile workshops. Sometimes they were also used for ceremonial purposes: after major victories, with their tarpaulins lowered, they would display the winning Silver Arrows to the adoring public. There was quite a fleet of them on the roads and yet none have survived.

To mark the 75th anniversary of the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows which had their racing debut at the Eifel race in June 1934, the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center has resurrected a racing transporter according to the old blueprints. It is based on a model Lo 2750 truck built in 1936 with a gas engine developing 70hp from a displacement of just under 5.0 liters. By virtue of their low-floor construction, this model and the models Lo 2000, Lo 2500 and Lo 3750 likewise used during the 1930s were the perfect choice for racing transporters.

The racing transporter is as impressive as the original just as if it were about to take a classic Silver Arrow to a Grand Prix racetrack for next weekend's race.